Thirty Quarters of Net New Checking AccountsWide moat

Bank of America (BAC) — moat facet

More people have opened checking accounts at Bank of America than closed them for thirty straight quarters, through a pandemic and a rate shock.

The checking account is the root of Bank of America's moat, because it is the account that receives the paycheque and pays the rent. The bank had 38.4 million consumer checking accounts at the end of 2025 and 38.7 million at the end of June 20261. It added about 680,000 net new consumer checking accounts in 2025 and completed 28 consecutive quarters of net growth2; by the second quarter of 2026 the run had reached 30 consecutive quarters of net growth3.

Consumer checking accounts (millions)38.4MEnd 202538.7MJune 2026Bank of America Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 results releases
Still growing after thirty quarters.

Thirty quarters is seven and a half years. It includes a pandemic and a sharp rise in interest rates. Through all of it more people opened checking accounts at Bank of America than closed them.

The bank says 92% of those accounts are primary4, meaning the customer's main account. That matters more than the count. A primary account holds the operating cash of a household, and the operating cash is the part that does not chase a rate: 59% of Consumer Banking deposits sit in checking accounts5. Consumer Banking's average deposits were $957.0 billion in the second quarter of 20266, and the bank says they are up 33% from pre-pandemic levels7.

The account is also the entry point for everything else the bank sells. Consumer investment assets, largely Merrill Edge, rose from $599.1 billion at the end of 2025 to $639.5 billion in June 20268, and total credit and debit card spending was $266.1 billion in the quarter9. Each of those relationships is harder to move once the salary arrives in the same place.

The digital side of the account is growing too. Active digital banking users were 49.3 million at the end of 2025 and 50 million in June 2026, and active mobile users 41.4 million at the end of 20251011. A customer who checks the account on a phone every day is harder to move than one who visits a branch once a month.

The streak is the thing to follow. The bank publishes the count of consecutive quarters of net checking growth every quarter; the first quarter in which it breaks would say the franchise has stopped taking customers from somebody else, and that would matter more than any single quarter's rate paid.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Net checking growth for 30 consecutive quarters; 38.7M accounts in Q2 2026.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Consumer checking accounts, latest quarter
38.7M, 30 consecutive quarters of net growth (Q2 2026)

The number of households whose paycheque lands here; a first quarter of net decline would end the streak.

Source: Bank of America Q2 2026 earnings release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Primary by the Bank's Own Count
The best number in the deposit franchise, 92% primary, is a definition the bank sets itself.
References
  1. ReportedThe bank had 38.4 million consumer checking accounts at the end of 2025 and 38.7 million at the end of June 2026.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - consumer and digital highlights: checking accounts, Zelle, Erica, BofA Rewards, financial centers. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt added about 680,000 net new consumer checking accounts in 2025 and completed 28 consecutive quarters of net growth; by the second quarter of 2026 the run had reached 30 consecutive quarters of net growth.
    Bank of America fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q4 2025 · publ. 14 January 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIt added about 680,000 net new consumer checking accounts in 2025 and completed 28 consecutive quarters of net growth; by the second quarter of 2026 the run had reached 30 consecutive quarters of net growth.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - consumer and digital highlights: checking accounts, Zelle, Erica, BofA Rewards, financial centers. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe bank says 92% of those accounts are primary, meaning the customer's main account.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - consumer and digital highlights: checking accounts, Zelle, Erica, BofA Rewards, financial centers. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedA primary account holds the operating cash of a household, and the operating cash is the part that does not chase a rate: 59% of Consumer Banking deposits sit in checking accounts.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results, returns on allocated capital and business highlights. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedConsumer Banking's average deposits were $957.0 billion in the second quarter of 2026, and the bank says they are up 33% from pre-pandemic levels.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results, returns on allocated capital and business highlights. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedConsumer Banking's average deposits were $957.0 billion in the second quarter of 2026, and the bank says they are up 33% from pre-pandemic levels.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results, returns on allocated capital and business highlights. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedConsumer investment assets, largely Merrill Edge, rose from $599.1 billion at the end of 2025 to $639.5 billion in June 2026, and total credit and debit card spending was $266.1 billion in the quarter.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results, returns on allocated capital and business highlights. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedConsumer investment assets, largely Merrill Edge, rose from $599.1 billion at the end of 2025 to $639.5 billion in June 2026, and total credit and debit card spending was $266.1 billion in the quarter.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results, returns on allocated capital and business highlights. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedActive digital banking users were 49.3 million at the end of 2025 and 50 million in June 2026, and active mobile users 41.4 million at the end of 2025.
    Bank of America Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - financial highlights, income statement, capital and shareholders' equity. — FY2025 · publ. 25 February 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedActive digital banking users were 49.3 million at the end of 2025 and 50 million in June 2026, and active mobile users 41.4 million at the end of 2025.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - consumer and digital highlights: checking accounts, Zelle, Erica, BofA Rewards, financial centers. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026